Thomas Pinelli is director of product management for AmkaiCharts. He will be serving as a panelist for a session on ” Trends in ASC Technology” at the 3rd Annual New York Metro ASC Symposium, scheduled for September 14.
Q: What do you see as some of the key trends in ASC technology?
Thomas Pinelli: Patient engagement is big right now. Whenever we provide demonstrations to ASCs, they talk about a desire to more effectively connect with patients and obtain history information at the patient’s convenience, whether through the use of patient portals or mobile devices.
There is also a growing interest in using technology to provide patient teaching, such as electronically sending patients pre- and post-surgery instructions to supplement the printouts they are sending home with patients.
Physician recruitment and retention remains an important issue, and ASCs are leveraging technology to improve physician engagement and satisfaction. Technology that enables physicians to review and sign orders and review patient history from a mobile device or their homes through a secure connection help make the physicians’ lives easier and increases their satisfaction with the ASC. But it’s more than just giving physicians the technology — physicians need to want to use software versus having to use it.
Q: What’s “next” in ASC technology?
TP: While EHR adoption is still low in the ASC market, those ASCs with EHRs now desire a communication platform that supports improved patient and physician engagement.
ASCs also want a solid quality improvement (QI) reporting module. The government is requiring more QI data, and ASCs are looking for solutions to more effectively gather, analyze, and report QI information. This will not only help them meet requirements and identify areas for improvement, but reduce man hours as well.
There is also a great deal of discussion about analytics and their current and future role in ASCs. ASC not only want to use analytics to drive financial performance, but also to improve patient care in areas such as normothermia and antibiotic timing, which ASCs have tracked for several years.
